Finding the right company or product in the rapidly expanding drone and mobile robot industry can be harder than it sounds. There are thousands of specialized suppliers, but knowing which ones actually fit a particular requirement can take considerable research. Drone Industry Insights (DII) is trying to make that process easier with ASTRA Intelligence, a new searchable platform designed to connect companies, products and services across the global mobile robot ecosystem.
Following its beta phase, ASTRA has officially launched with more than 1,500 company listings and 6,500 products from 68 countries. The platform covers robots that fly, drive, float and dive, along with the hardware, software and services supporting them.
The idea is less like browsing a traditional business directory and more like building a targeted shortlist. Users can apply filters based on their requirements, with ASTRA ranking results according to profile completeness. Companies with more complete profiles appear higher within the selected results.
That could give companies another reason to keep their information updated. An incomplete profile isn’t just missing information; it could also mean less visibility when potential customers are searching.
ASTRA comes with several tools aimed at buyers, suppliers, investors, and policymakers. One of the more interesting additions is a supply chain view that maps companies across different parts of the mobile robot ecosystem. Users can see suppliers ranging from component manufacturers to integrated-system providers and service companies. The feature is also designed to help organizations identify potential suppliers in specific regions.
Users can save companies and products to long and short lists, download those lists for internal evaluation, and compare products side by side.
Company profiles are also managed by the companies themselves. A designated representative can update and expand a profile, while deciding what information is made public. That owner-managed approach is intended to keep the database current as the industry changes.
Addressing a growing sourcing challenge
DII says ASTRA was built using the same industry data and research that supports its market analyses and Drone Market Map.
According to DII’s Global Drone Industry Survey, acquiring customers has been the industry’s second-biggest challenge for three consecutive years. At the same time, domestic politics and geopolitical tensions are encouraging companies to rethink their supply chains and look for regional alternatives.
ASTRA is designed to address both challenges by making specialized suppliers easier to discover while giving companies another way to connect directly with potential customers.
“ASTRA Intelligence is the most comprehensive human-to-human platform in the world of mobile robots,” says Kay Wackwitz, CEO of DII. “The goal is to foster meaningful human connections, and ASTRA is built for exactly that.”
Unlike directories that rely exclusively on paid listings, ASTRA allows every company to create a basic listing for free, permanently.
Free access for early adopters
The platform is now available at astra.droneii.com. Buyers and other users can search and explore it without paying.
For companies, the basic listing — including their company profile and products and services — is permanently free. Companies that register by December 31, 2026, will also receive an Early Adopter Plan with all ASTRA features free through June 30, 2027.
Starting January 1, 2027, companies registering after the early-adopter deadline will be able to access premium features such as testimonials, press releases, and product videos through a subscription.
The name ASTRA stands for Automation, Safety, Transportation, Robotics and Applications — the areas DII sees as central to mobile robot deployment.
With ASTRA, DII is essentially adding a practical sourcing and discovery layer to its existing market intelligence business. For an industry where finding the right supplier can be almost as important as finding the right technology, that could prove useful.
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